The Tale of the Apus
by Angilina Diggle
Summary: Name has changed. It fits better for what the story is about. Should I continue? Chapter 2 up!
1. Chapter 1

My life is not normal, even by non-normal standards. My name is Olivia Hood. This is my story.  
  
It was a cold, crisp fall morning when it all began. It was my week for safety patrol at school. I had on my usual plastic smile and said my usual hi. Every thing seems perfectly normal just trust me though it got a lot weirder. I stood at my assigned spot and just stared into space. A long while later some one tapped me on the shoulder. "Excuse me, do you have the time?" he asked. "7:43 am" I replied, looking at the man in astonishment. He was at least six and 1/2 feet tall with shoulder length blonde hair with blue eyes, heart throb in the words of Autumn. "Thank you." And with that he walked away. This same thing happened every day at the same place same time all week. When Friday came I was getting annoyed. That time when he turned to walk away I grabbed his arm. "Let go." he said calmly. "Only if you tell me your name." I said trying to keep my voice steady. "Tattãme now let me go." When I let go I caught his stare. It was like he was trying to read my mind.  
  
Since it was Friday I stayed up late reading Return of the King. I was on the last page when I heard it. It was about three o'clock in the morning and I had only three pages left to read in the book, then I would have read The Lord of the Rings trilogy three times. My favorite character had to be Legolas. He is Thranduil's son and the prince of the Elven realm of Mirkwood though he is not a brat. By the end of the account of his part in the history of Middle earth he is the lord of Ithilien. But I am getting off the story, please allow me to continue. I was so tired I could barely lift my head. It was then that I heard it. First the snap of the floor board then the creeeeeeeeek of the stairs, then silence, long silence. I grabbed the metal flashlight, held it with clammy hands and waited.  
  
I must have fallen asleep. I woke up with the sound of "Sponge Bob Square-Pants" blaring in the next room. "Little rejected alien! Turn that down!" I yelled. When my little rejected alien brother who I knew I was not related to turned it down I got dressed and went outside. I climbed my tree and sat on my branch. I did not know that it was the last time I would ever sit on that branch again. I must have sat there an hour at least, singing the same song over and over.  
  
Crack, snap! A twig snapped behind me and I turned around to fast. I slipped of the branch and hit my head. Everything went black. "I am dead." I thought.   
  
I remember the sensation of being carried, but not like someone was running. What ever it was that was carrying me when it stepped I could not feel it. It was more like floating.   
  
When I awoke I tried to sit up but found that when I did there was a terrible pain in my head. "No! Do not sit yet! Lie down you need rest!" She ran over to me and put one hand behind my head and the other on my right shoulder. "You lost a lot of blood when you fell, you need rest." She said. My head ache was gone so I looked left and right and found two of my best friends Amanda and Misty. "Who are you and what are we doing here?" I asked. "Only the first one can I answer. My name is Salebeth. As to your whereabouts you are in Rivendale." I do not remember how many questions I asked her. From a later account I heard I talked myself to sleep.  
  
When Amanda, Misty and I were well we were asked to see Master Elrohir who at that time was the ruler of Rivendale. As we sat in that room waiting for him we all thought the same thing, what are we doing here? "Good day." Elrohir said as he stepped in the room. We had been sitting alone so long we all jumped. "I am sorry if I frightened you. I have a question for you. Which of you is eldest?" I looked at my friends and they nodded. "I am-I am the oldest" I said. A tall man walked into the room and whispered something into Elrohir's ear. When Elrohir had first walked in he had a serious air about him, but when the man said that there was some other emotion I could not read "The three of you have been summoned. Be ready to leave at dawn."  
  
When we got back to our room and found packs on our beds and a knife beside them with a cloak. We packed up the other few things we had and went to sleep.  
  
We woke up to the twang of bowstrings and the clash of swords. Rivendale was being attacked! We grabbed our packs and ran. We were lucky though. The center of the fight seemed to be on the other side of Rivendale.  
  
We reached the forest at top speed and ran maybe 50 yards before we were ambushed by orcs. While still in a slight state of shock we noticed they were all dead, they had been shot. "You should be careful." said a voice from above. The figure jumped from the tree to the ground. "My name is Golradir. I am here to take you to Mirkwood." He paused and looked around, "We must make haste." And with that our journey began.  
  
We went over mountains and through valleys but the worst were the marshes. 'Festering, stinking marsh-lands.' Gimili said before the Company broke. But, we had to go through them.  
  
On the second night we camped, we sat down to talk to Golradir, with whom we were becoming fast friends. "You need to learn how to fight. I will teach you what I can, for the forest of Mirkwood is but one day away." Misty excelled, at doing everything the wrong way but in the end she got it and right Amanda and I did fine.  
  
It was on our third day of walking. "Beyond this hill is Mirkwood." said Golradir. We walked to the top of the hill and stopped dead in our tracks. "The most wondrous sight in Middle Earth…" We had to agree. Forest, never ending forest in every direction. That was one of those moments that you wish could last forever. There I was, looking at the forest of Mirkwood with my two best friends and of all things an Elf. Of course the moment had to end. "We will rest here tonight and meet Thranduil tomorrow." If this were a movie it would be one of those moments where it has a pause. Legolas king of Ithilien, prince of Mirkwood, son of Thranduil. 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Didn't put this in the last one, I do not own LOTR  
  
Author's note: Thanks! 1 review! I owe it to ya Darlene! Thanks, I hope to get at least to 3 on this chapter.  
  
All I could think about that night was what I would say if I actually saw Legolas. Would I just say hello, bow, nod, how should I know? My head was buzzing. I guess I fell asleep thinking about it because the next thing I remember was Golradir shaking me awake. "Wake up hurry." I sat up and shook my head. I tried several times to ask him what was going on but he only kept repeating him self "Hurry!"  
  
The rest of the night we ran. We rested only when the sun rose, or we fell down from exhaustion. "It is safe now, you can rest." And even he took a little sleep.  
  
The mid-day sun awoke us and I heard soft singing. The singing was so soft that I could not hear the words. When I finally sat up I Golradir sitting on a nearby log. "Good afternoon! I let you sleep awhile, I am sorry about last night." "There is nothing to forgive, what happened?" "Warg-riders were spotted near Lothlorien," he said, "Are you ready to leave?"  
  
It was the fourth day and we could tell we were getting closer. Amanda stayed in the front with Golradir and Misty and I sort of stayed back a few paces. We hated spiders; epically the ones in Middle Earth which smelled and the regular sized ones were as big as a sedan. That night we slept in a cave because it was raining. To tell you the truth it was actually quite comfortable, except for the feeling of being watched. Golradir called us over to the fire, "Listen to me very carefully. We are entering the dangerous part of Mirkwood. If something happens to me or if I tell you to run, go back the way we came. When you get to the top of that hill find a small forest on the horizon and go towards it. Tell the guards 'Golradir is hurt, he has sent us.'" He looked at us and smiled, "Now, you need rest. Sleep!"  
  
I think what made me wake up was that awful smell. I still do not see how Misty and Amanda slept through it. It smelled like that dead rat that my cat dragged in the car and left there until we noticed the flies and the stench. I got up and walked to the front of the cave where Golradir was sitting and the air was fresher. "Why are you awake? Is there something wrong?" he said. "Nothing, I just could not stand the smell back there." I replied. "Neither could I." I sat down next to him. A long silence followed. "Why do you think we are here?" I said. "I am not sure. That is the reason Thranduil sent for you, I think. All I know is that you are here." he said. A long silence followed and I thought I heard hoof beats in the distance but I did not take any notice of them.  
  
The sun was rising and the forest animals awoke once again. "It is light enough to find wood. We will need it for torches." Hey I wasn't asking why we would need it!  
  
He sent misty and I out looking for the wood. "Ya know this really sucks!" Misty said. "I'm not complaining." I said. "Of course your not! I am the only one slightly in tune to reality!" I sighed. Misty started pulling on something that looked like a pan handle. "AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" We heard someone scream from the cave. We held our breath as we came upon an odd scene. There was no sign of Golradir except for a few broken arrows. Amanda was sprawled across the ground with that look you see in a deer's eye when you are heading straight towards it in a SUV. "Amanda what happened?" Misty asked. "G-Golradir he was." She stuttered. "What, Golradir was what?" "Killed." Silence came over us. "Olivia, help me with Amanda. Before whatever it is comes back." Misty said. Frankly I was impressed. Misty was the most likely to freak out in this situation, but in little ol' Georgia we didn't have no spiders that could swallow a full grown man in one bite. We followed Golradir's directions and were soon in the forest of Lothlorien.  
  
We had traveled only about half a mile in the forest before it was almost to dark to see. We built a fire and it grew colder. We had to keep our minds off the cold so we told stories and jokes and basically anything. It was cloudy and we could not see outside the ring of firelight. "Well could our situation get any worse?" Amanda said. "Did anyone ever tell you not to say that?" I laughed. It started to snow. We all sighed. It was completely silent. Finally the silence was broken by a scream from Misty. The next thing I knew my hands and feet were tied and my eyes blindfolded. In the midst of all this I heard someone yell "Golradir is hurt, he has sent us!" 


	3. Chapter 3

We were carried for a long time. We could see the light shining through the blindfolds and knew the sun had risen. We were sat down and warned not to even attempt escape. I felt a hand reach towards the back of my head and untie my blindfold. It was growing dark already. We were on a platform in the trees, or flet as the Elves called it. "Who are you, and what is your business in this land?" said one Elf. We remained silent. "Speak!" he groaned and turned his back to us. "Golradir is hurt, he has sent us." Misty managed to get out. He turned back to us. "I know not the one who sent you nor do I know his business. Halmir will deal with you." He said something under his breath to another Elf and climbed down the ladder.   
  
We did not dare speak. I sighed and rested my head on my knees. At this point I was scared beyond all measure. Half an hour later a different Elf climbed the ladder. "Leave us." He said. The Elf that had guarded us climbed down the ladder and the other closed the hatch. "What has happened, why has Golradir sent you?" We were silent. "I understand you are probably frightened," he pulled out a small knife. My heart was racing. "Do not worry." He cut the ropes that tied our hands and feet. "Please, he was a dear friend, tell me what happened." He said. Amanda sighed. "He was killed by a spider." Halmir hung his head and muttered something that I could not understand. He sighed and looked at us again. "We will decide what is to be done when the messenger returns in the morning. You will stay the night here," a gentle smile spread across his face. It was a great change from the grieving look after we told him of Golradir's fate. "You will be safe, from what seems to me like the first time since Imladris." He gave a slight chuckle. We smiled back. "'Till the morning." He nodded his head and threw back down the ladder. We lay down and went to sleep instantly.   
  
That night I had a dream. I saw a woman and a man. They were both Elven. The woman was holding me and another little girl in her lap. Suddenly she vanished and only the other little girl and I were there in a tent alone with the man. He was speaking to us in the common tongue as the woman had not. "Don't worry you will see your mother again. Now you are going with me to another place." His voice was soft and urgent. "Get in here." He opened a sack and the girl and we climbed in it. He lifted us and we were carried a long time, until he opened the sack and dumped us out over a cavern.  
  
I woke with a start. My heart was beating wildly and I was breathing fast. I sat up and looked around. I was still on the flet. I lay back down and went to sleep.  
  
The rising sun woke me up. I sat up and yawned. Amanda was awake and Misty was in a zombie state. Amanda tossed me a piece of this weird bread. It was light and when you swallowed, it was like you had eaten an entire meal. This was heaven to the three of us after the skinny rabbits and squirrels we had been eating. When we had finished Halmir walked up to us. "Good morning! I hope you slept well? I have been told to bring you to the city. We will set out as soon as you are ready." We all grabbed our packs at the same time. "That was quick! Come." We climbed down the ladder and set off for which ever city it was. 


End file.
